Fire-escape



(No Model.)

F. D. CHANDLER.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 404,029. Patented May 28, 1889.

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and winding-drums.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FEIcE.

FREEMAN DAVID CHANDLER, OF FRIENDSHIP, NEIV YORK.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 404,029, dated May 28, 1889. Application filed January 31, 1889. Serial No. 298,245. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it kn own that I, FREEMAN DAVID CHAND- LER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Friendship, in the county of Allegany and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of fireescapes in which flexible ladders are arranged to be wound upon drums on a horizontal shaft arranged in suitable bearings at the top of a building in such position that the said ladders, when unwound, shall pass in front of the windows of the building, and thus afford a means of escape for the occupants in case of fire; and it has for its object to provide a device of this class which shall be simple in construction and certain as well as easy of operation.

The invention consists in the improved our struction and arrangement of the ladders and operating mechanism, which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is afront View of a part of a building equipped with my im- Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through one of the ladders Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken through one of the bearings of the operating-shaft and showing the brake. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the construction of the ladders.

The same letters refer to the same parts in i all the figures.

A designates the front of the building, and B B are the series of hangers or brackets at- I tached to the top of the same, preferably under a cornice, 0, whereby the said brackets I and the devices supported thereby shall be protected from the weather.

F is a longitudinal shaft, journaled in the brackets B B, and having attached thereto a series of drums, D D, upon which the flexible ladders E E are wound when not in actual use. The said drums are so located as to register with each tier of windows in the building, as plainly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, so that the ladders, when unwound, shall pass directly in front of said windows and afford a convenient means of escape for the occupants of each floor of the building.

The shaft F is provided with a suitablylocated pinion or beveled wheel, G, meshing with a beveled wheel, H, at the upper end of a vertical shaft, I, which extends from the top to the lower end of the building, and is journaled in suitable brackets attached to the front wall thereof. The lower end of the shaft I is likewise provided with a beveled wheel, J, meshing with a pinion, K, upon a short horizontal shaft, L, journaled in brackets M M at the base of the front wall. The shaft L is provided at each end with a crank or handle, N, whereby it may be convenienty rotated, thus enabling the flexible ladders to be quickly and easily unwound from or wound upon their drums when occasion shall require. To prevent the ladders from being disturbed or unwound by their own weight or from other accidental causes, I provide one of the brackets M with a hand-screw, O, bearing against the shaft L and acting as a brake to prevent the said shaft and its connections from being accidentally rotated.

The flexible ladders E E may be composed of a series of U-shaped links constructed of metallic wire and suitably connected in such a manner as to cause them to wind tightly upon their respective drums, when the shaft F is rotated by the mechanism herein described. The lowermost links of the ladders have eights P I attached thereto for the purpose of causing the ladders to unwind smoothlyand evenly and of steadying them when unwound. The sides Q Q of the U shaped links R may be constructed each of two or more sections, joined together flexibly by means of links or eyes S S at their ends, thus enabling the ladders to wind more tightly upon the drums D than would otherwise be the case. This construction is plainly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modification in the construction of the flexible ladders, which consists in making each ladder of a single continuous strip or band of steel, brass, or other suitable sheet metal, which is provided with a series of slots, T, forming intermediate cross-bars, V, which constitute the rounds of the ladder. When this construction is adopted, the metal struck up in the process of forming the slots should not be wholly removed, but is wound around the intermediate cross-bars, as plainly shown are thus formed may be safely and conveniently grasped without danger of injury to the hands or feet of the persons who may have occasion to use the ladder.

The operation of this invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed. -The flexible ladders may, in case of necessity, be unwound in a few moments time, thus affording means of escape for the occupants of the building. The construction is simple and inexpensive and the device may be manipulated by any unskilled person, and is not in danger of getting out of order, as more complicated devices are liable to do in case of emergency. f

I am aware that fire-escapes in which flexible ladders are arranged to be wound upon horizontal shafts attached to a building are not broadly new. I am also aware that such devices have been connected by. countershafts and gearing with operatingshafts, and such Ido not, therefore, broadly claim.

7 Having thus described my invention, I

1. In a fire-escape, the ,combination of the horizontal main shaft, flexible ladders arranged to be Wound upon drums on said shaft,

sisting of a single strip or band of sheet metal,

having struck-up portions wound around the intermediate cross-bars thus formed, and constituting the rungs of the ladder, substantially as herein set forth; a r p In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflix'ed my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

FREEMAN DAVID onANnnEia.

Witnesses:

HERMAN RICE, W. WARD RICE. 

